43 Folders' awesome New Year's "modest change" series continues today with the simple, life-saving "qualified 'yes.'" In short, somewhere between saying "no" to a new project or taking on something in an open-ended type of way, be clear from the get-go what you can commit in concrete terms.

So, what used to be "Sure, I ll do your web site" is now more often "Sure, I ll give you 10 hours and 3 calls over the next month to use however you want." If nothing else, it helps everyone understand that time is a precious commodity, but it also gets me out of being the de facto manager for every aspect of a project I touch.

This is also a great way to make yourself a hot, in-demand commodity, which forces others to prepare more beforehand and thank you more later.